Seven years after leaving Portuguese football, the Sporting-trained defender looks back with no regrets, but also without hiding the feeling that he still has a lot to prove.
His farewell to Valencia, as he himself bluntly admits, comes with a bittersweet feeling, but also a sense of fulfilment. The next step, still uncertain, comes with the awareness of someone who has given everything, sometimes more than he should have, and who still dreams of going far in a football that hasn't always been his friend, but to which he is grateful.
"There's a toxic atmosphere between the fans and the club's management"
The end of another season, relegation secured and almost back in Europe. They finished with a win against champions Barcelona. What is your collective assessment of 2025/26?
"We finished the season fighting for Europe, but I think it was a bad season for us as a team. We had new players coming in, and we didn't manage to be consistent and demonstrate the quality that the squad had. We have young players, some more mature, with quality, and we didn't reach our full potential during the season."
You don't agree that it was a quiet season, then. Was the aim to go further?
"That was our mistake from the start. We didn't have things set out properly. There was some investment from the club, but we never really decided what we wanted for this season. We wanted to get as many points as possible, to get as far up the league as possible, but we didn't have a clear objective. At a club as big as Valencia, I think that's something we should have set ourselves."
Was there a moment this season that you considered the most difficult and that ultimately defined the season?
"I think it was right at the start, in the home game with Oviedo. We were 1-0 up, missed a penalty and they turned it round. That game had quite an impact on the squad, not just because of the defeat but because of the fans. It was the first time I'd seen us play at the Mestalla, winning, and people whistling. I was warming up, it could have been my comeback game after my knee injury, and it was strange to see that reaction from the crowd.
"That game left its mark. We were coming off the back of a draw with Espanyol, in which they scored in the last minute. I think that game (with Oviedo) was complicated and it was from then on that the season started to become unstable."
Unstable is a good word to describe Valencia, even in regard to the coaching staff. Last season, Carlos Corberan ended up making a decisive change to the team, ensured we stayed up and ended up staying to provide that stability. What changed?
"The mood we were in. With (Ruben) Baraja, things weren't going well and sometimes, with a change of scenery and working methods, you can change the mentality. That's what the coach managed to do. This year we've had more difficulties, I don't think we've reached our full potential."
There was a lack of consistency in results...
"Yes, we reached a point where we lost our identity, we were a bit lost in some games and that was detrimental."
Valencia has gone through some instability in recent years, even in the relationship between the fans and the management. Where does everything stand now? What is missing to get to a level where teams like Villarreal, Real Betis and Real Sociedad are?
"Above all, there's a lack of stability. Valencia is a very unstable club. There's a toxic atmosphere between the fans and the club's management. This season, it's been between the management, the players and the fans. Like it or not, that's damaging. I think we're also to blame, the players are the ones who can change something and we can't."
Hence the example of the Oviedo game, right? The relationship between the fans and the players has an influence.
"Of course it does. We can't complain. Every home game, whatever day it is, we always have more than 40,000 people in the stadium. That's an incredible feeling."
"I've been labelled a player made of glass"
And on a personal level? In April, there were fears that you wouldn't play again this season. Did you do any extra work to get back in time? What is your assessment of the season?
"It was a very complicated season. I came back from a serious cruciate ligament injury and... I didn't have time to adapt. Normally, when you come back from these injuries, you get minutes; I came on for two games and started the third. It was difficult for me to suddenly get into a rhythm of play that I didn't have. I was injured for 11 months, I didn't do any pre-season.
"Then I gained pace, felt more confident and had no pain in my knee, something that wasn't happening in some games and training sessions, but just as I was feeling good, I had a hamstring injury.
"This season, I never felt physically comfortable. In April, I ended up getting injured against Mallorca. I went to a physiotherapist outside of Valencia to be available for the last few games. I wanted to finish this Valencia cycle playing."
You feel like the season didn't really get off the ground for you, did it?
"Yes, of course. Just as I was feeling stable in my knee, I had the hamstring injury. It was also my fault. I felt discomfort during the week, before the game with Elche, but I pushed on, I wanted to play to help the team. I didn't think it was anything special and I aggravated the discomfort I had before the game."
You've had a lot of injury-plagued years. I saw a tally showing that you've been out of action for around 600 days due to physical problems since you arrived in Valencia. How have you dealt with these issues?
"It wasn't easy, I had to have a lot of mental strength. After my first injury at Valencia, I was labelled a player made of glass. Whether I wanted to or not, that messed with my psyche. There were times when I shouldn't have played, but because of the label, I ended up pushing myself. I didn't know how to manage this phase. I feel good when I can do what I love most, which is playing football."
You wanted to go against that label and ended up jeopardising your recovery.
"Yes. When I had my first injury, I was off for four months. When I came back, I was playing and, in training, the striker fell on my knee and I sprained it. We were six weeks away from a potential Copa del Rey final, we still had the semi-finals with Athletic. My injury was expected to last six weeks and by Wednesday I was playing. I tried to do my best to be available and it wasn't always the best decision."
I know that at the start of your adventure in Spain, you had a mental coach to help you adapt. Was there anyone who was instrumental in helping you come back during the downtime?
"The main person is my wife, she gives me the most support, as well as my family. When I feel I can't get things off my chest, I turn to my mental coach, Pedro Seabra, who has helped me a lot."
Was there ever a time when you were afraid you wouldn't play again or at least get back to your level?
"Of course, there were moments during my knee injury that were quite complicated. As much as you're surrounded by people, you end up feeling alone because they don't really know what you're going through or what you're suffering.
"In the last game, my colleague Diego (Lopez) had the same injury, and when I got to the dressing room, I saw him with his head down, his leg immobilised. It was as if it had happened to me. These situations devastate me; just thinking about it brings me down. Before I had this injury, I'd see a player with an ACL and I'd just think, 'That's bad, now he'll have to miss months of football'."
All we saw was the downtime and nothing else, right? We didn't know the process.
"Only those who go through it know how difficult it is to overcome. It's not an easy process at all. I was lucky at the club. We have a rehabilitator, Jordi, who was five stars for me, he helped me a lot. The physiotherapists were incredible, but I'm very grateful to Jordi. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been able to play again."
What's it like for a footballer to go through such an ordeal? To see your mates and friends competing and you doing treatments or in the gym?
"It's complicated, especially with what the club was going through. We were fighting not to go down, but I was on the inside and on the outside at the same time. I couldn't do anything, I just tried to bring good energy. We're having an internal battle, but we don't want it to go outside because we want to be the support for our teammates."
In the past, in an interview, I said, "When you're 20, if you don't enjoy football, what are you going to do?" Today, at 27 and after all these setbacks, do you feel you enjoy it more now than you did then?
"I don't know if I enjoy football more, but I enjoy everyday life more. After the injury I suffered, I don't take anything for granted. After 11 months without doing what I want most, playing and being with my team-mates on the pitch, I've started to enjoy everyday life more."
"Playing in Valencia must be one of the best experiences there is"
You've just completed your seventh season in LaLiga, which is already a very considerable number of seasons. What is your assessment of your career in Spain?
"It hasn't been easy. Being at such a big club, with so many demands, isn't easy. Valencia is a very big club in Spain and it's going through a period of instability, always with new faces and coaches. It's not easy to have regularity like that. I feel that my best moment was the year with (Jose) Bordalas and then with (Gennaro) Gattuso the following season, when I felt very good and cherished by the fans, but always labelled as a glass player. I always tried to give my all for the club."
Speaking of the club and the city itself: what's it like living in Valencia and how do the fans approach you in the street?
"Living in Valencia, playing in Valencia, must be one of the best experiences there is. The city is incredible. The fans are very demanding, but in the street, they're very sweet, they treat you very well, they always approach you in the best way, even in the most difficult times for the club. They always give you a boost when you're out and about. I only have positive memories of my years in Valencia."
Speaking of memories, are there any games that have left a special mark?
"The game we won against Atletico Madrid at home, 3-0, was special. That year we had a very young team, we'd just come back from a season in which we were fighting not to go down, and that game gave us a lot of confidence."
"The first time I was told about Valencia, I said: 'I don't want to leave'"
You left Sporting with just seven first-team appearances under your belt. Did leaving for Valencia take you by surprise at the time?
"It took me very much by surprise. We'd just played Rio Ave, we'd lost 3-2, and I remember arriving and my parents saying, 'There's a possibility you'll leave Sporting.' I said straight away: 'I don't want to leave Sporting. It's been my dream since I was nine. Now that I'm in the first team, I don't want to leave.'
"My father confronted me and told me to think carefully because Sporting had just signed (Valentin) Rosier and had (Stefan) Ristovski. They were two players for one position, in the first team. My father started saying: 'You have to think carefully. They're injured, but they'll be back, and you're the easiest player to take out of the 11.'
"It ended up that way. The first time they told me Valencia, I said, 'I don't want to leave'. But my father spoke to me and changed my perspective."
Did you feel that leaving was better for your development or more of a desire from Sporting?
"It was more the fact that Valencia were in LaLiga, in the Champions League, with a good squad. The coach was Marcelino Toral, who was doing a great job.
"I wanted to combine the useful with the pleasant, because Sporting weren't going through a good period and they received a good sum (12 million euros) for my transfer."
You've already said that you haven't realised all your goals at Sporting. On a personal level, is one of your goals still to return?
"Of course, I'd like to play for Sporting again. It's a dream of mine and my family, who are all Sporting fans, not least because of the years I spent at the academy. I know it's complicated, but it's my dream."
If only for your family, you continue to follow Sporting...
"For family and friends. I have Daniel Braganca, who has been my teammate since he was nine, still playing for the first team. He's a source of pride for me and my generation. I also get on very well with Trincao, who had a great season."
Since you're talking about Daniel Braganca, he's also had two difficult injuries. Did you talk to him?
"Yes, we always kept in touch. I don't forget his second injury. I was still injured, it was my wife's birthday, and when I saw him fall to the ground, I was in tears. He stopped, clutched his knee, and there was nothing good to come.
"He's a warrior, he always has been, and he's back in great shape."
'My cycle at Valencia has come to an end'
To close the interview, I'd like to talk about your future: your contract with Valencia is coming to an end. Has anything been decided with the club?
"Nothing is definite at the moment. The club hasn't spoken to me, I haven't spoken to the club, but I think the best thing for both of us was for this cycle to end here.
"Two years ago, I wanted to leave the club; the opportunity didn't arise, I wasn't allowed to leave, and then I ended up getting injured.
"I think my cycle at Valencia has come to an end."
What's your priority?
"I'd like to stay in Spain, but the future is open. I'll meet with my representative and decide on the best move."
This summer will be seen as a new beginning for you.
"Yes, I have to decide where I'm going, but I don't think it's going to be in Valencia. I'm leaving everything open.
"This season, when I started playing, the club wanted to talk to my representative about renewing my contract, but I got injured, and the process was put on hold. However, it was never my wish to stay at the club."
Do you feel that the people at Valencia have seen the real Thierry?
"I think they have. I've always given my all, demanded the maximum from my body in order to be well. I've been nice to everyone, the human being my mum brought me up to be. I'm happy with my career at Valencia."
And on the pitch?
"Yes, there were times when you saw the real Thierry, but the instability of the team never helped me."
In what is almost a farewell, what would you like to say to the Valencia fans?
"I'd like to thank everyone who has always supported me.
"My year of adaptation wasn't easy. I signed for a coach, and in my first training session, he was sacked. A new coach came in who didn't bet on me; he didn't have the hands to manage a 20-year-old.
"Then I started to earn my place, respect in the dressing room and from the fans, but these last two years haven't been easy, not just because of the knee injury, but also because of the way I've been treated at the club.
"That's football, you have to move on."
Are you leaving with sorrow or gratitude?
"I have to leave grateful. The club has given me everything I have to this day, it has given me the privilege of playing at the Mestalla, for me one of the best stadiums in Spain."
I met you at the start of your career, still at Sporting, in 2019. Seven years later, we spoke again. If we were to meet again in three years' time, what would you like to tell me?
"I'd like to tell you that I've been capped by Portugal, which I think would be a good topic of conversation, and that I've managed to reach my peak at a good club in Europe. I want to be a player who can be on the pitch regularly, make assists, score goals and bring joy to the club's fans."